Yet Another Iron Man Fanfiction
by onyourleft126
Summary: The Avengers have saved the world, but to Tony Stark and his niece Isabella, this is just the beginning. When a mysterious new enemy emerges and threatens everything the Starks care about, Isabella pulls out all the stops to make things right by doing the exact thing she thought she'd never do: become Iron Girl again. PART 2 of the IRON GIRL SERIES!
1. Prologue

One year ago, it happened. Everything changed—a mythical deity arrived on Earth and waged war, a source of unlimited power was stolen, and a holeappeared in the sky to let in alien invaders—yup, alien invaders.

And six heroes rose up and won Earth back for the rest of humanity, but in the process, we lost some things too. And nothing was the same ever after.

They called those heroes the Avengers. Tony Stark is one of them. To everybody else he's a genius billionaire in a suit of armor; to everybody else, he's the invincible Iron Man. But to me, he's my uncle, and to me, he has his vulnerabilities and demons just like everyone else.

I just didn't know how much until recently. And not too long ago, those demons started catching up to us, try as he might to leave them in the past or protect me from them.

My name is Isabella Stark, and they call me Iron Girl.

* * *

Ladies and gentlemen! It is with great pride and honor that I present to you: PART 2 of the IRON GIRL SERIES! I hope you all enjoy this one as much as the first!


	2. Tis The Season

The last time I had seen Stark Mansion, it had been undergoing tons of repairs by construction workers. Now it had emerged pristine and ship-shape, perfectly ready to take another beating. God forbid, I thought, walking up the driveway to the front door. Nobody needed _that _at this time of the year.

I took a good look at the interior of the house through the glass door before pressing the intercom. At once, my uncle's sentient AI butler responded.

"Welcome to the Stark residence. Please state your name and business."

I grinned. "Aww, come on Jarv, don't tell me you've forgotten me already…"

I thought I heard a slight note of humor in the AI's answer. "Just observing protocol, Miss Stark. Welcome back. And happy holidays."

"Happy happy," I said, as I opened the door and stepped into the foyer.

I inhaled the smells of whiskey, metal, expensive leather, and…Christmas? _It's been way too long, _I thought.

Quick background, for those who think 'the shits n' giggles' is not good enough reason for me to commute all the way down here for Christmas. Tony had invited me to spend the summer with him and his girlfriend, Pepper, as they opened the Stark Tower in New York. But my mom had been in between projects that summer, and she suggested a 'post-divorce girls' trip to Europe' instead, after her separation from my father had been finalized. And considering that she was actually eager to bond with me, and that I'd never been to Europe before, I jumped right on it.

In my absence, Tony joined a super-secret boy band and ended up saving the world from aliens.

Since then, Iron Man had made less and less public appearances, and I could tell what had happened had caused my uncle severe trauma. Not withstanding flying into a portal and nearly not coming back out, one of our friends- SHIELD agent Phil Coulson- had died in the battle. I _had _to come over here and make sure he was okay. Christmas break was the first chance I got.

"You know," came my uncle's voice, "I thought the plan was for _me _to go over to your Mom's place for the holidays…"

I turned and saw him emerge from the kitchen, a wine bottle in his hand. He stopped and looked at me. "Did I not get the memo?"

I grinned. "Christmas surprise!" I ran and hugged him.

"And consider me surprised," Tony said. "Welcome back, Isabella."

I wanted to ask him how he was, tell him I'd been so worried about him after the alien attack on New York, but before I could get any of that out into words, Tony spoke. "You've put on a few inches," he said, patting the top of my head, and I knew at that moment he did _not _want me to bring that topic up.

"And you've put on a few grey hairs," I said instead, glancing at his hair and beard.

"Eh." He straightened. "So, your old man let you come all the way here one week before Christmas?"

I grinned. "He might've let me…once I told him I was already on the Greyhound bus."

Tony barked with laughter. "Ha! You took it all the way from Chicago?"

"Straight from boarding school and then a cab from the station," I said. "It was actually kinda fun. Anyway…he's finishing work in New Jersey."

"Oh yeah, I think I might've heard something like that," said Tony. "So how is he?"

"He's got a girlfriend."

"Does he, now? She on the same IQ level as your mom?"

I smirked. "Not remotely. Couldn't even hold her own in a game of Mancala." That made Tony laugh.

"Anyway, enough about her…what about you?" I asked him. "I haven't heard word of Iron Man in months. I hope you've still been keeping busy."

"You have no idea," he said excitedly.

"Mr. Stark has not slept in the past eighty hours," JARVIS supplied.

I stared. "Really?"

"For a good reason though," he said. "Come on, I wanna show you something."


	3. The Chrome Suit

"…pretty cool, huh?"

"Super." I stared at the suits that lined the walls. There must have been more than fifteen of them, all, Tony had explained to me, programmed for a specific use. Only he hadn't used them yet.

"They're amazing, Tony," I said. "I can't believe you managed to crank these out in the span of a few months."

"It gets better," he said, "That's not the only thing I want to show you." He took my shoulders and steered me 180°. "Check this one out."

A panel in the wall opened, revealing another suit of armor. This one was smaller, lighter-looking. Sleek blue and silver, and designed for a female wearer.

"I call it the Chrome suit," Tony said. "It's yours."

I looked up at him, stunned. "_Mine?"_

"Hell yeah."

I approached the armor, taking in every minute detail; the smooth, shiny finish, the soft white glow emanating from the chestpiece.

"She's programmed with enhanced flight speeds and a superior early-warning system with faster reaction time," he continued talking. "I've outfitted her with a few more tricks here and there, you'll soon find out…Well? Do you like it?"

I tore my eyes away from the helmet. "I thought we agreed on no more superhero stuff. For me, at least."

Tony shrugged. "After I'd made so many breakthroughs with the other suits, it felt kind of logical to try making something new for you."

"Oh," I said flatly. "I get it. Iron Man's just not in the mood to get out in the field, and you want me to fill your shoes." I shook my head. "I thought we had an agreement. No more Iron Girl, right? That's what SHIELD said."

"I never told you to fill my shoes," Tony said defensively. "I just want you to think about it. And SHIELD is okay with it. What happened this summer, with the Avengers…it was a big thing. It's changed everything. And I have a feeling it's just the tip of the iceberg."

Well, so much for not bringing up New York.

"So this is your weird unorthodox way of protecting me," I said numbly. I'd originally created the Iron Girl MK 1 as a means of protection, after all. And my prior experiences with Tony had taught me that he had extremely secretive, roundabout ways to defending anything important to him.

"It is," Tony said, with the air of addressing his board of directors. "What if the invasion had pulled through? Heck, what if it happens again and it works? How do I protect you then?"

"Maybe you're just being paranoid," I said worriedly. I should have known this was going to happen.

"I have _good reason _to, Iz," Tony said, a hard edge in his voice. "You've heard about the Mandarin, right?"

It sent a chill up my course I'd heard about the Mandarin. His existence was unignorable by now—you're watching TV on a normal day, seeing a normal program; then suddenly your screen would flash jarring smash cuts of explosions and militants in a distant Middle Eastern country. Then the camera switches to a man with a long, ratty beard dressed in Asian robes. And all over the world—no one knew how—he was threatening innocents, taking lives. Spreading terror.

Tony could read my eyes. He didn't need a response. "Stuff like that…it's never going to end. The world's always going to be in danger. And let's be real for a moment—Iron Man isn't always going to be around to protect it."

When someone like Tony Stark, who'd cheated death more than once, starts talking about his own finite mortality, you know shit is serious.

"Technically, you still want me to fill your shoes," I stated, "not now, but someday. Your legacy."

"I just want you to think about it," Tony said. "But in the meantime…" he gestured to the suit as if it were a table laid with food he was inviting me to eat, "this is all yours. Think of it as an early Christmas present in the event that...things go to shit. From a loving uncle to his favorite niece."

That made me smile. "I'm your only niece."

"Whatever. Well, it's here if ever you want to take it for a spin," he said, shutting the panel door and concealing the suit again. "I know teens like to go fast. And if you don't like it, I've made some advancements to your original armor. It's in the basement."

"Thank you."

Tony raised his wine bottle slightly. "Pepper should be home soon. Let's get dinner started…"

I grinned. Call me crazy, but this—_this, _this house like a spaceship on a cliff in California, with my crazy genius uncle and the voice in the ceiling, felt like home.


	4. High Velocity

The US Department of Defense was right on the Mandarin's case. So was War Machine. Ahem, Iron Patriot. I had to remember that now. They'd renamed War Machine so it was more applicable to the situation; essentially, the Government's own Iron Man. While I was proud of its pilot Rhodey, who happened to be Tony's best friend (fun fact: he first became War Machine after stealing one of Tony's suits, same as I had) I also felt scared for him. He was a colonel in the Air Force, danger was pretty much his thing, but still.

Tony had gone to meet him for lunch the next day, while I got re-settled into the old guest room that I had stayed in last summer. In the months since the battle of New York, Pepper, Tony's girlfriend and CEO, had also moved in. But right now, I was alone in the house (well, with JARVIS) and the thought of the Chrome suit just itched in the back of my head…

I bounced downstairs into the workshop and found the panel that concealed the armor. It slid open, revealing the Chrome suit, just begging me to put it on and paint the town.

So I did.

Every piece fitted me perfectly; Tony had probably added a few inches allowance to the original suit. Finally the helmet came on, and I blinked.

"JARVIS?"

"Not JARVIS, ma'am," replied a female voice, as the HUD flickered into life around my head. "Call me FRANNIE, the artificially intelligent system designated to operate the Chrome armor."

I blinked again. "Tony programmed you especially for this suit?"

"That is my sole function, Miss Stark," she said smoothly. "I am here to assist you in flying the armor. The Chrome suit has hyperenhanced speed capabilities, an advanced calculations system, heightened agility and is in itself a wi-fi hotspot, allowing you access to the Internet at all times." I chuckled at this. _Pure genius! _"It is also fitted with the standard-issue arsenal of every Stark suit, with the addition of two retractable titanium blades in the gauntlets." I looked down, and the blades she'd mentioned immediately popped out, sharp and bright.

"Whoa," I said.

"Mr. Stark has also requested a remote link from my system to JARVIS', so that at any given moment he knows where you are. And for easy transport, this suit can collapse itself into backpack form using a pre-encoded hand gesture. My total mainframe has also been uploaded to the Iron Girl MK 2 in the basement, should the need ever arise. And never worry- I was programmed with the main prerogative to protect you at all costs. Now, shall we get started?"

I looked outside at the bright California sky.

"Yes, we shall."

The first time I'd used one of these, I never thought I'd ever go so fast in my life. I was wrong. Wherever the Chrome armor took me, it took me _fast. _Within a couple of hours I'd already flown over the entire western hemisphere's airspace and cut a swath above Asia.

On my way back home I dropped into New York for a steaming hotdog bun and ate it on a sidewalk bench with a good view of the Stark Tower. After the alien invasion last year, it was still in bad shape; whole floors in rubble, windows smashed, and all the letters in the name 'STARK' mounted atop the building were missing.

Well, except for the A.

I looked up at it despondently. What would have happened if I had been there? Would I have made it out of New York alive? Tony and Pepper had Skyped me when the lights first came on. Mom and I had been in Zurich at the time, both so excited for them. How was I supposed to know that that night would change everything?

In any case, repairing the building was slow going, and darned if Tony wasn't cooking up some grand new scheme for its redesign…or completely new and different function.

I was just tossing away the hotdog wrapper when FRANNIE said, "I've received word that your uncle just returned, Miss Stark, and he's not in the best state. Might I suggest you go to him?"

Oh boy…whatever was it now?

"Tony?"

The garage was empty when I landed, but all the suits were complete, so undoubtedly Tony was already home. I had the armor fold itself into a backpack and quickly ran upstairs to see exactly what 'not in the best state' meant.

I found my uncle sitting at the foot of the stairs, his back to the wall, breathing heavily and looking like he'd run a marathon in six minutes.

"Tony!" I exclaimed. He blinked up at me.

"…Iz?"

"Oh my God. What happened?"

"I'm okay."

"You're not." I put an arm around his shoulders and pulled him to his feet. "You're in a cold sweat and your heart is pounding like a—"

"Shh, be quiet for a second, there's all these dark spots in front of my eyes," he complained as I led him to the couch. He flopped down on it wearily.

"WHAT happened?" I said.

"If you'll excuse me, Miss, Mr. Stark recently suffered a panic attack," came the voice of JARVIS. "It would certainly be helpful if you kept your voice low."

"Panic attack?" I said, looking at Tony worriedly.

"Look, it's nothing, okay?" he said impatiently. "I'm feeling…better." He took a deep breath and looked me in the face. "You took the suit out for a joyride, didn't you?"

"Well…"

"I knew you would!" His tone immediately got excited. "What did you think? FRANNIE, what'd you think of her?"

"She's amazing, but we can talk about it some other time…what happened to you?"

"I told you, Iz, it's nothing…"

"That's what you always say, but it's always something, isn't it?" I said.

"I just flipped out during lunch, that's all," he told me. "Mentions about…about the…" He seemed hesitant to say the words, but I knew what he meant.

"About New Y—"

"Yeah. Don't," he said, cutting me off.

"Oh no," I said softly.

"I'll be fine, Iz," Tony said, trying to be reassuring (but failing miserably.) "I just need a few minutes. That's all." He shut his eyes.

I chewed my lip. "Anything else?"

Tony opened one eye. "Maybe a jazz tune?"

"Right." I left him and sat down at the baby grand piano a few feet away.

When I was a kid, someone suggested to my father to give me lessons in the arts, apparently so I could balance out my big brain with something more emotional and creative. Painting, ballet, pottery and singing didn't interest me or even work out- but when I was eight I somehow ended up in the same room as a keyboard, and we just hit it off. I took lessons for a couple of years then ended up teaching myself. Tony found out about my skillz and made a habit of asking for requests; usually 80's rock stuff that were impossible to cover on the piano. Today's suggestion was more sensible.

As I started on a smooth jazzy number, I hear Tony begin to relax slightly.

"That sounds nice," he said. "Sounds a little…Christmassy. Apt, for the season."

"You know, I really think you've done it with the Chrome suit," I said, "I don't think my parents will mind so long as I don't join you on missions or whatever." My fingers traveled across the keys, seemingly of their own accord. "But the idea is kind of…tempting, I don't know. I got a lot of growing up to do before trying any hero stuff…Maybe when I'm a bit older, right?" Tony didn't answer.

"Right? Tony?" I stopped playing, glanced behind me. My uncle was already asleep on the couch, snoring softly.

I sighed. I left the piano and walked over to him.

I curled up on the couch, next to Tony, and I watched the waves come in and come in on the California coastline beyond the window.


	5. Nightmares

I looked out the window to see Pepper's car rolling into the driveway.

"She's home!" I called. I watched her pause in front of the giant stuffed rabbit in the driveway, shake her head and walk in. In a few minutes I heard her voice.

"Sorry I'm late again, I was-what the? What is that? You're wearing this in the house now? What is that, like the Mark 15?"

"Uh, yeah, something like that," came Tony's voice from inside the suit. He got up and went to her. "Everyone needs a hobby."

"Oh, and you have to wear your hobby in the living room?"

"Just breaking it in. You know it's always a little pinchy in the gooey bag at first so..." I heard her laugh and decided I'd had enough.

I trotted outside and greeted her from my bedroom door just as they started talking about the stuffed rabbit.

"Hi Pep!" I said, bouncing up and down. "How was your day? Mine was good!"

"Iz!" she laughed. "My day was all right, calm down."

"Great! Why don't you let Tony get that thing off and go to your room and I'll get you some hot chocolate?" I said, on the verge of desperation.

"Hold it, sweetie!" laughed Pepper. She turned to Tony. "So why don't you lift up that face mask and give me a kiss?"

"No can do. You just wanna kiss it on the facial slit?" responded Tony. Oh boy. He was really toeing the line now.

"Well, why don't I run down to the garage and see if I can't find a crowbar to jimmy that thing open?"

"There's been a radiation leak," Tony and I blurted out at the same time, but Pepper brushed past us.

"I'll take my chances!"

The suit hobbled after her, and I flattened myself against the wall. Now she'd find out that Tony was never in the living room at all and it was just the suit she'd tried to kiss. Well, I'd tried to cover for Tony. Why did I do these things for him?

I waited for her to start yelling, but she never did. Finally, after a couple of minutes, I tiptoed down the stairs into the living room and stopped at the top of the stairs leading down into the garage, with my back to the wall as I tried to listen in on them.

"...you experience things, and then they're over and you still can't explain them. Gods, aliens, other dimensions-I'm just a man in a can."

What? This was new. This was something Tony had never told me. I suddenly felt sad and humbled. Was it because I never bothered to ask?

"But threat is imminent, and I have to protect the one thing I can't live without. That's you-and Iz, up there."

Did he just say that about me? Was I really that vulnerable to him? I didn't know what to think, especially after he'd all but suggested I take up the mantle as Iron Girl. I slid to the floor and put my chin on my knees.

I heard Pepper's voice. "I'm going to take a shower. And you're going to join me."

"Better," said Tony.

That was my cue to flee-so I did. Neither of them suspected that I'd listened in.

Guilt washed over me as I shut the door to my room. I knew I should have done something earlier.I should have asked, I berated myself.

But Tony should have told us.

That night in my room I heard the door to Tony and Pepper's open, then shut, followed by muffled footsteps going downstairs. Curious, I got out of bed and went into the living room.

"Pepper?" I said, pausing at the top of the staircase. On the couch below, Pepper Potts looked up at me, red hair disheveled.

"Iz, I'm sorry, did I wake you?" That was Pepper. Always putting us Starks before her own wonderful self.

"Yes—sort of," I said. "I dunno, my ears are just sort of attuned to noises like that." I descended the staircase. "I used to hear them a lot when my parents would argue in the middle of the night, and my mom would go sleep in the den. Is something wrong?"

Pepper shook her head. "Your uncle had a nightmare. It triggered the Mark 42. Damn thing almost attacked me…"Her voice shook, frustrated. "I had to get out of there for a minute."

I put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "It was a subconscious command. Neurotransmission technology is usually a little wonky when it's first put into practice…" This made Pepper laugh. "I'm sure Tony will fix it. He's just…totally paranoid."

"Well, for a genius, he's just not getting the point that we can take care of ourselves," she said. "I don't want him to worry. It's eating him." She settled on the couch.

I shrugged. "Well, I don't know what to do to stop him from worrying."

Pepper smiled sadly. "He's the only one who can fix this now."

I sank onto a footrest wearily. "I wish I could help."

"So do I."

Suddenly a shrill noise coursed through the air, a jarring alarm sound. Pepper and I stood at once as Tony emerged from their room.

"Ladies, I'm sorry," he said breathlessly, "But there's been an emergency."


	6. Tony Does a Stupid Thing

Apologies for not updating in so long! But here's the next chapter now :)

* * *

Tony came out of the hospital room, and I stood upright from where I'd been leaning on the wall in the hallway. He didn't say a word, just put on his dinky blue sunglasses and walked out.

"Hey, wait up!" I said, trotting after him. "Is he gonna be okay?"

"He's going to be fine," said Tony, but he didn't pause. He went right on walking, forcing me to keep up.

It had just come out of nowhere—a bomb had gone off in Los Angeles. Exact same conditions as the Mandarin attacks. Because of the lack of forensic evidence, nobody ever found out who was responsible, but they were barely able to rescue survivors.

Among them, Happy Hogan, the Stark Industries head of security and one of Tony's closest friends. I hadn't been able to stay in his room very long; seeing him in this state was too nerve-wracking. Pepper had gone to handle things at work surrounding the issue, leaving me with Tony at the hospital.

Inside, I was simmering. This was what happened when my uncle hid deep in his lab, tucked away from the world he was supposed to protect. Now a Mandarin blast hurt one of our friends?

We saw the crowd of reporters in front of the hospital doors, and my heart started to pound.

"Stay close to me, Iz," said Tony flatly as he pushed the doors open.

The wave of people that swarmed up to meet us was like a horde of bees, all clamoring from some sort of comment. I quickly pressed into Tony's side, trying to keep my head low. I hated being sixteen and short. We made it to Tony's car with some difficulty, and with some frustration I noticed that people were blocking the door to the front passenger seat. I squeezed the back door open instead, trying to ignore everyone.

"Mr. Stark!" called a reporter, and Tony stopped. I glanced at him, mentally begging can we get out of here?

"When is somebody gonna kill this guy?" the reporter continued. "Just saying."

"Is that what you want?" said Tony, and I knew we were doomed. He turned to face the crowd. "Here's a little holiday greeting I've been wanting to send to the Mandarin. I just didn't know how to phrase it till now. My name is Tony Stark and I'm not afraid of you. I know you're a coward, so I've decided that you just died, pal. I'm gonna come get the body."

"Tony, what are you doing?" I said in a hard, level undertone. This was going too far!

"Quiet, Iz," he said sharply, taking me completely by surprise. He kept on going. "There's no politics here; it's just good old-fashioned revenge. There's no Pentagon; it's just you and me. And on the off-chance you're a man, here's my home address: 10880, Malibu Point. 90265. I'll leave the door unlocked." He grabbed the reporter's phone and tossed it aside. "That's what you wanted, right? Bill me. Iz, get in."

"Wait a second-"

"Get in."

Ringing with the shock of his tone, I pulled the door open and slid into the back seat as the crowd around us started clamoring for more. As soon as I was in, Tony hit the gas and we left the swarm of reporters in the dust. As soon as we'd made it to an empty road, I clambered into the front passenger seat.

"What was that?" I snapped. "Did you just throw away some guy's phone, threaten a terrorist, give him your home address and SHUT ME UP on national television? What is wrong with you?"

"Iz!-"

"No, you're not going to shut me up again! Someone has to tell you to stop doing crazy things!" I was close to blowing the roof of the car off. If I had my suit on, I would've. "Didn't you even think about Pepper? Or me? What about the things you can't live without? I thought you wanted to protect us!"

"You eavesdropped on us," Tony said accusingly.

"The hell I did! Does it matter? Do you even know what you've done?! You're under pressure, I get that—but this is THE LAST THING we need! Your condition will only get worse if you keep on insisting that you can—"

"Isabella, that's enough," said Tony sharply. "I did what I had to, okay? Nobody can find this guy. NOBODY. I had to go up there and call him out personally! There was no other choice!"

"You've just made us completely vulnerable," I said. "'The Mandarin.' Even the name is messed up, just like this entire charade! We don't have enough info! What happens if he does accept your challenge, huh? We're all screwed!"

"Nobody's going to get screwed," he said, keeping his eyes on the road. "Just trust me, Iz."

"Only if you trust me," I said helplessly, before looking away and not speaking again.


	7. The Safest Haven

Everything changes in this chapter. Sit tight!

* * *

By the time we reached home Tony's little outburst had gone viral. And the news had reached everyone from Larry King to my dad.

Dad did not take it well.

He yelled at Tony during their whole phone conversation, so I didn't have to ask my uncle what he said. Dad was cutting his business trip short and coming down to pick me up.

"You'll be safer away from me, Iz," was all Tony said. "Go to your room and start packing."

I did as he said, fuming the whole way, hoping Pepper had the sense to evacuate the house before shit went down. I pulled out my suitcases once again then noticed the Chrome armor, in its nifty backpack form, still in the corner.

Bring it. _Definitely _bring it.

The doorbell rang, surprising me and jarring me out of my thoughts. How did we still manage to have guests when Tony had put us under lockdown? Voices came from downstairs-Tony's, and a woman's I didn't recognize. I went out to see who it was.

"Who's there?" I said, stopping dead at the top of the stairs. The newcomer looked up at me-a woman with straight dark hair wearing a black cardigan.

"Iz, this is an old friend-Maya Hansen-Maya, my niece Isabella-" said Tony quickly.

"Isabella," said Maya. "Iron Girl, right? I remember hearing about you when you made the news."

"Yeah? Tony hasn't mentioned you at all," I blurted out before I could check myself. Luckily, I was saved from further embarrassment by Pepper.

"I'm sorry, with Happy in the hospital we weren't expecting guests," she said, coming up behind me.

"We weren't," put in Tony.

"And old girlfriends!" Pepper continued, going past me down the stairs. I was surprised.

"Old girlfriends?" I queried in genuine interest.

"Iz, go to your room," he groaned, and I shrugged and turned around as Pepper said "We are going out of town."

The succeeding conversation (argument?) was mostly muffled when I returned to my room and shut the door, continuing to remove my personal effects from the room. I turned to shut the blinds to the windows, when two rapidly-growing specks on the horizon caught my eye.

What the hell was that?

"Um, JARVIS?" I said. "Identify helicopters approaching the-"

BOOM.

The floor bucked savagely beneath me, and I screamed, losing my footing and slamming hard into the wall. BOOM! Another blast. What the hell was happening?! Were we under attack? By whom?

_You know by whom! Who did Tony give our address to recently? _Inwardly, I cursed. I should have seen it coming!

"Iz!" I heard Tony shout from outside, and my heart pounded furiously. I tried to reply, but the house rocked again, and this time my door shattered into a thousand shards of flying wood. I slammed against the glass of the balcony doors. Holy crap, if this thing broke-! The floor began to tilt again, and I saw my bed about to shift, my Chrome backpack still under it.

Now it was a matter of kinetics. I angled myself so that the bed wouldn't hit me when it finally slid. It came rushing towards me. _Now! _

I twisted just in time, grabbing the Chrome backpack and forming it around me just as the bed smashed through the glass doors. I tumbled through the wreckage of the house and found the livingroom almost completely destroyed. As another bomb hit the second floor, I saw Tony stumble in the rubble and slide down as the house tilted precariously before the surface of the ocean.

It was like a switch had been flipped on in my head, removing all trace of fear and uncertainty and leaving one thought.

_Save him!_


	8. Everything Burns

I whistled through the air, flipped over horizontally and slid across the tilted floor, grabbing Tony's arm as he was about to fall. A piece of armor whizzed past me and attached itself to Tony's free hand; more were on the way, but Tony wouldn't have a full armor in time. He must have used it to evacuate Pepper and Maya first! I'd just managed to catch him as an avalanche of cement, of steel and cracked plaster and broken furniture, collapsed over us, making the floor tilt even more.

I heard Tony yell faintly as I quickly shielded him from the debris. Pain exploded in between my shoulder blades and on the side of my head, making my helmet display rattle. We slipped a few more feet as I popped the steel blade out of my gauntlet, driving it into the cracked floor. Sparks flew from it, but gradually we stopped.

My vision blurred. I forced myself to stay conscious. Focus, Iz! Was Tony hurt? I could feel him stirring close to me, and I jerked my head up.

"Are you okay?" I said.

"Iz, you're hurt!" he said. "You need to get to safety-"

"N-no…" I mumbled, "not leaving without you."

"Iz, _listen!_ You have to get out of here, now!" I shook my head in protest, unable to form words.

"FRANNIE!" said Tony urgently. "Accept Chrome armor override code 2279."

"What?" I said feebly. I could feel the engines on my boots lock into a reverse position.

"Access granted, Mr. Stark."

"Tony, NO!" I screamed as the armor unclenched my fingers from Tony's hand. The blade keeping us anchored to the floor snapped shut, and I had a split second's last look at my uncle before the thrusters kicked in and I shot like a bullet out of the crumbling mansion.

I landed on the driveway hard, on my back. The armor opened up around me and the sky reeled above as I lost focus on my surroundings.

I held on to my consciousness for just long enough to be aware of Pepper getting up and running, yelling Tony's name, and Maya looming over me in a panic.

"Isabella—stay with me!" she urged, but that was the last thing I heard before the pain in my head swelled and darkness swallowed my vision.


	9. Here's Where You Can Find Me

Quite a long chapter to make up for the shortish ones I've recently uploaded.

* * *

The first thing I noticed when I pulled back into consciousness was the smell of antiseptic.

When I opened my eyes, a tiny crack, clean white walls greeted me, and I realized I was in a hospital room. I blinked, trying to get my bearings, reaching up to smooth down my hair and touching a gauze bandage strapped to my forehead. I stiffened, feeling congealed blood and coarse tape, and realizing I'd been knocked out in the mansion attack. Beside me, a heart rate monitor and a few screens showed I was more or less all right now. My heart rate did speed up a little when recollections of what just happened hit me like a sledgehammer.

Tony!

Pepper?

Maya…

The door opened suddenly and a doctor walked in. "Hello, Isabella. How are you feeling?"

"I don't know," I said, the words suddenly spilling out shakily.

"Well, you've survived the destruction, that's for sure," he replied, glancing at the screens. "I'm Dr. Fraction*, by the way. You had a bad concussion, but luckily you won't suffer any lasting effects. And a good thing too; we wouldn't want an IQ like yours taking a dip."

I sat up. "Did you find Tony?"

Dr. Fraction looked at me and shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry. We never were able to recover him."

I let out a shuddering sigh and drew my knees up to my chest. The room swirled around me as a pit formed in my stomach. Had I lost Tony for good?

I could never allow myself to think that.

Beside me, I could sense that Dr. Fraction was a little awkward. "I've got a note here. From Miss Potts."

I looked up as he handed it to me. "She left it for you."

"She left? For where?"

He shrugged, genuinely apologetic. "I'm sorry. She and Miss Hansen took the car a little over an hour ago. She didn't say where they were headed."

I took the note and unfolded it, not expecting the best.

_Iz,_

_I am so sorry I couldn't stick around for when you woke up. But I had to leave at once. Turns out Maya came here to tell Tony something important that might have to do with all these attacks. And I know Tony would never want me to get involved, but right now we're the only ones who can get to the bottom of this. So Maya and I are on the road, laying low. I don't know when we'll be back; but I promise I'll let you know as soon as we come up with something._

_Right now, I need you to be on your guard and laying low. I've phoned your parents and they're taking the first flight out of Chicago to get to you. Once you get home, try to protect them at all costs, but DO NOT try to find the Mandarin. PLEASE do not use your suit. I know you will hate me for saying this, but keeping a high profile will only make you a target._

_Do not trust anyone. Be safe._

_Pepper_

I put the note away in the pocket of my jeans. "Have you seen my suit anywhere?"

"It's at the foot of your bed."

I nodded. Dr. Fraction turned off some of the screens.

"We're going to keep you here until your parents arrive. After that, I'd advise you to rest and not do anything strenuous." He left the room, shutting the door behind him. Suddenly, the realization that I was truly alone sank in.

I leaned over the bed, picked up the suit, which had folded into its backpack form. Even if Pepper had told me to never wear it, just holding it made me feel a little bit safer. It was pretty much the last thing I had left of my uncle. Now what was I supposed to do?

The nurse wheeled me out of the emergency ward and into the waiting room where my parents—obviously—were waiting.

I don't think I've given a lot of description about my father before. Basically, my dad, Morgan, is on top of the Chicago branch of Stark Industries, but he also handles their international affairs. That's why he and Mom traveled a lot, and since there was no one at home it made sense for them to put me in boarding school. Dad has black hair like me. Like Tony, Grand-uncle Howard and basically all the Stark men I'm aware of, he has a mustache too. I bet if I was born a boy, I'd grow up to have that mustache as well.

This time, instead of my mother at his side, he had a skinny, brunette girl with large eyes and bony features. Katrina.

"Bell," Dad said with a relieved sigh.

"Dad, Tony's—" I blurted out helplessly. To my surprise, Katrina put her arms around me.

"It's okay, Isabella, I'm sure he's out there somewhere. You're going to be fine."

"At least you're safe," said Dad, and I could see tears in his eyes.

The first thing we did after leaving the hospital was check into a fancy hotel as close as possible to the Stark Industries headquarters in Los Angeles. Dad, as usual, had a couple of work things to go through. After this he promised a flight back to Chicago and all the ginger ale I could drink. Katrina, probably excited to get a chance to mother me, made me stay in one room of the two-bedroom suite, all fixed up in bed so I didn't 'strain myself after that concussion,' but in fact, I was fine. The obvious thing to do right about now, at least to me, was figure out a plan of action.

The problem was,I didn't have the motivation to think of one.

_Where are the Avengers when we need them? _I found myself thinking. Anger started to simmer deep in me, frustration toward people I should have been thankful for for saving the world. Where were they now? Were they worried about Tony too, were they even thinking of going to look for him?

"Good evening, Miss Stark. All armor systems are back online."

"FRANNIE?" I said, glancing at the small voice coming from my suit, which sat folded up on a chair. "You're back!"

"Yes, ma'am, and glad to be so."

I chewed my lip. "Answer me a question. Why'd you accept Tony's override code?"

"Mr. Stark implanted that protocol to ensure that I would keep you safe under his direct command, and at any cost."

"You didn't tell me this," I said, stung.

"That was part of the plan, ma'am." I growled in annoyance, but she interrupted me again. "However, I think you'll quickly forgive him once you hear his last voice message."

"Voice...message?" I whispered.

"The call came in around three hours ago on a Stark secure system, originating from Rose Hill, Tennessee. Forty-five minutes ago, I detected a signal from the same location."

"What…kind of signal?" I said curiously.

"Unbelievable as it is, ma'am, it's definitely the signal emitted by JARVIS' system. There's no way I can make contact with the rest of the suit however."

"It's still a chance I'm willing to take," I said, breathless with the prospect of finding Tony. "Play the voice message."

Instantly I heard my uncle's voice crackle on: _Pepper, it's me. I've got a lot of apologies to make and not a lot of time. So first off, I'm so sorry I put you in harm's way…_

"He's alive," I said. Could anybody choke on happiness? I think, at that moment, I just did. I squealed in delight. The game wasn't over yet! "He's alive!" There was a noise at the door.

I looked up suddenly as the door to the suite opened as my dad entered. "Honey, I'm home," he sighed. Those words, previously assigned only to my mother, made my insides churn, but I jumped out of bed and bounced into the main room of the suite where Dad was kissing Katrina's cheek.

"The company's in a mess, but I managed to keep things together," he was telling her.

"Well thank God you did! Isabella, your father's he-"

"Guys!" I said, interrupting them impatiently. "Listen to this." I played Tony's message to them from my backpack. Katrina looked confused, but Dad's face went slack with relief.

"That's really Tony's voice! Where did this transmission come from?" Dad wanted to know.

"Rose Hill, Tennessee!" I said impatiently. "Look, I have to go find him, Dad, he's out there somewhere and I have to—"

"Whoa, wait a second," said Dad, obviously startled. "You can't do that."

"Why not?" I challenged.

"Just because the signal is emitted from Rose Hill doesn't mean that Tony is still there," he said matter-of-factly. I blinked.

"It's still a lead," I said. "It'll be like a treasure hunt."

"And besides, I trust this Pepper when she says 'lie low'," said Katrina, pulling the note out of her breast pocket.

"She said Don't go looking for the Mandarin," I countered. "I'm looking for Tony. Don't you want him safe? Don't you want him back?" I was too old for the puppy-dog eyes. Good old plain reasoning would have to do the trick. Katrina glanced at Dad, but Dad glared at me.

"If Tony is really alive, then he'll find a way to come home to us," he said. "I am not allowing you to endanger yourself. Now go to bed."

I glared back. "What the hell is this, Dad? What've you got against Tony anyway?"

"Isabella—"

"Dad!" I cut him off aggressively. "A member of our family is lost out there after a manic terrorist tried to kill him. Tony's looked out and after me when you guys couldn't; won't you let me do SOMETHING for him?!"

"Morgan, she's right, let her go!" Katrina burst out. "She's not a little girl anymore!"

I blinked. Well, that was surprising. And helpful.

"Thank you, Katrina," I said. "No, seriously."

Dad bit his lip.

"There's something I have to make you understand," I said levelly. "I'm probably Tony's only hope right about now. If there's at least one chance that he might be alive, I'm willing to take it."

"You don't have to prove anything, Isabella," Dad said in an undertone.

I shook my head. "Not trying to prove anything, not this time. I just finally know what I have to do. And I know, in my…heart, that it's right."

A silence descended upon the three of us. What would happen if my father didn't understand? Then screw that—I'd go looking for Tony anyway. The only price I was scared of paying was having to disobey my father and disappoint him forever.

Finally he looked up at me.

"You go find him," he said. "Help him. And bring him back home."

*Dr. Fraction is named after Matt Fraction, who wrote the Invincible Iron Man series and the recent, ongoing Hawkeye. He's one of my favorite Marvel writers J


	10. My Name's Harley

Happy Valentines' Day, followers! :D

* * *

"Approaching Rose Hill in approximately twelve minutes. Narrowing down our landing location to the signal's exact point of origin."

"Thanks, FRANNIE." Don't worry, old man, I'm coming. I couldn't drop below cloud cover yet or people would see me, and that would just complicate things. But from my altitude I could see that several people were crowding around a ransacked section of street, which was busy being roped off with police tape. Scans indicated that an explosion had happened here, in a store, and in a bar nearby several people were cleaning up broken glass. Still more were huddled around curiously as local police and an ambulance arrived.

I shook my head, holding back a grin. This had Tony's fingerprints all over it.

I finally landed in a secluded area of woods a little beyond the outskirts of the town, then had the suit fold up, slung it over my back and snuck through the back roads all shady-like. While I was scared of getting caught by someone, a part of me felt excited to be playing ninja. I wondered briefly how Natasha Romanoff, alias Natalie Rushman, alias the Black Widow, did it.

FRANNIE routed the location signal to the map on my phone. By the time we arrived at the source-a small workshed near a two-story suburban house-my legs felt like they were made of wood, and I had to take several deep breaths before continuing. Was Tony in there for real? If it was just a bait, a trap that I was walking into, then I shouldn't be walking in undefended. I suited up and on the count of three, forced open the old wooden door.

Almost at once a loud bang went off and a small, dense projectile hurtled at me. The suit had just enough time to register and react, and I put up my hand and shattered the projectile to bits with a sudden blast.

"Aaaaah!" I yelled.

"Who's there?" said a voice—a kid's voice. A small boy's voice. Needless to say, I was surprised. Very surprised.

"Oh my God, what the actual hell?"

"Sorry," the boy said, obviously taken aback. I slid up my faceplate and took in the sight of him—short, blonde, about ten years old probably, and holding a makeshift potato gun.

"Would you put that away and not point it at me, please?" I said irritably—more upset that Tony wasn't the first thing I ever caught sight of in here.

"Whoa—Iron Girl?"

"I don't like to be called that, but sure. Iron Girl," I said, clanking into the workshop. "I'm the real friggin' deal."

"How did you find me?" The boy put down the gun cautiously, looking me over as I entered, looking around suspiciously.

"How did YOU end up with that in your possession?" I said, jerking my head toward the moth-eaten couch on which lay the battered ( and headless) MK 42.

"Because he was here," said the boy. "Tony Stark was here, for real."

"What?"

As if in response, a familiar voice with a British accent spoke up. "He's telling the truth, Miss Stark."

I blinked. "JARVIS?" The voice was coming from the MK 42's helmet, sitting on a messy worktable.

"Good evening, ma'am! What a pleasure to hear your mango."

"Oh my God!" I exclaimed, so glad to hear his voice again. "So that's where the signal was coming from!"

"Is that how you tracked us?" the boy persisted.

"Yeah." I turned to him. "I'm so sorry I surprised you. But he was here—my uncle, for real?"

"Yeah," said the boy. "And I helped him," he added, a little prouder. "My name is Harley."

"Harley," I repeated. "Well, any clue as to where he is now?"

"He left to find the Mandarin, drove off a while ago," he told me, sounding eager to supply this information. "I'm looking after the suit and trying to reboot JARVIS' speech drive. Tony's supposed to walk me through it, but he had a panic attack—"

"A what, now?" I said, worry creeping up my spine. "Did you mention New York?"

"How did you know?" said Harley, amazed.

"Oh, I know all right," I said grimly.

"But he's okay," Harley told me reassuringly. "He's really cool. Some blazing fire guys came over here and wrecked the place, but it was nothing we couldn't handle."

"Blazing…fire…guys?" I said, unable to comprehend.

Harley shrugged. "Eh, long story."

"Uh huh," I said. "So when did Tony last contact you?"

Harley was about to reply when a small buzz emanated from his pocket. He pulled out a cellphone and said "Hello, Mr. Stark?"

My heart bounced.

"Um, Tony, there's a girl here."

"Give it to me, Harley," I said, motioning toward the phone impatiently. Harley did so, stunned. I grabbed it and pressed the receiver to my ear.

"Iz?!" I heard my uncle's familiar voice.

Next to the sound of piano keys and Hayley Williams' voice, it was the best sound ever.

"Surprise, bitch!" I said. Harley winced at the word.

"Iz—what the hell are you doing there? Didn't Pepper tell you to lay low and be safe?"

"Oh, you told Pepper to tell me that? Yeah, I heard your voice message, you told Pepper you were alive and not me. Yeah, I feel really special right about now!" Despite my words, I couldn't help but trail off laughing in relief. On the other end, Tony was laughing too.

"Iz, calm down, honey."

"It's great to hear your voice, Tony."

"Yours too." And I knew he meant it. "So how'd you find Harley?"

"FRANNIE found JARVIS' signal the moment she came back on. I thought Jarv and the rest of the suit was with you."

"It's not—but you used the Chrome suit? As in, your parents let you?"

"Yes! Now where are you?"

"I'm heading to the Mandarin's base in Miami, thinking of bunking down at Villa Maria for the night." The Villa Maria was Stark property, a vacation house in Florida. It was called Villa Maria after Tony's mother. I blinked. "The Mandarin's in Miami? Not in a cave somewhere in the Middle East?" My mother had moved to Florida, with her boyfriend. If the Mandarin was anywhere near her, it meant one more problem.

"Yeah, crazy right? I'll tell you everything as soon as I can."

Yes, you will. "I'll meet you there," I told him.

"Wait. No way, Iz, it's too dangerous—"

Holy cow, not this load of crap again. "Tony, I have a suit and you don't. Did you seriously think you could take the Mandarin on your own?"

He was quiet for a fair bit. "Fair enough," he finally conceded. "Fine, I'll let you know. See you on Christmas eve, kid. Give the phone back to Harley."

"See you." Our happy family reunion would have to wait; but at least it had a chance of happening at all.

Harley took the phone from me. "Tony? Okay. Yeah, yeah okay. Got it. I won't! Okay, take care." He hung up and turned to me matter-of-factly.

"So Tony told me that now you're here, you can help me with the suit and JARVIS."

"He did?" God, Uncle, you owe me big-time.

"Yeah. You can do it, right?" Harley glanced at the suit I was wearing. "Also, you might wanna touch up your suit too. It's looking bad. No offense."

"None taken," I sighed. Time to get to work. "All right, Harley. I can fix this. I just need all the windows to be shut, a hair ribbon, a first-aid kit, a car battery, some electromagnets, twelve jammie dodgers and a fez." Harley looked at me, puzzled.

"Just kidding," I amended quickly. "Don't get the jammie dodgers or the fez. Just-maybe a can of ginger ale?"

"Ooookay," said Harley.


	11. Flying Under the Influence

As we worked, I watched Harley carefully. The boy was sharp as a tack and quick to understand my instructions. He told me about how he found Tony in his garage and how they started to get to the bottom of the Mandarin mystery. Apparently, the blazing fire guys who had arrived in Rose Hill were connected to the Mandarin somehow, as they caused explosions almost exactly like the ones happening around the world. Harley related to me that previously, a smaller explosion had taken place here after a man named Chad Davis blew himself up along with a bunch of other innocent people. Harley then went on to explain that Tony had taken a car and gone straight to find the Mandarin in Florida. What was the Mandarin doing there, I wondered? Well, now wasn't exactly the time to think about that.

Of course, I wasn't the only one with questions. Harley's curiosity knew no limits—or boundaries. Yes, I did build my first armor using hacked info from Tony's mainframe. Yes, I did test use it in battle against Hammerdrones. No, I had never peed in it before. Of course Tony was really in a relationship with Pepper. No, I don't have a boyfriend. Yes, I did meet the Black Widow, but I didn't know her well. He seemed satisfied with the credibility of these answers.

"So this garage is all yours?" I said, looking around.

"Yeah," Harley responded. "Well, pretty much."

"And your mom doesn't know you make all these."

He shrugged. "She doesn't really care."

I was quiet for a few moments. Finally I spoke up.

"I know that feel, bro," I said carefully. "But I'm sure your mom cares, even if she doesn't get a chance to show that she does." I managed a smile.

"Sure," he said dully, "I'll keep that in mind." I wasn't sure if I convinced him, but with any luck, he'd remember.

Together we were able to reboot JARVIS effectively and use the car battery and electromagnets to jump-start the MK 42 into receiving electricity faster. He even helped me repair some parts of my own suit. We finished well past midnight, with Harley reassuring me that his mom was sound asleep in the house.

"How are you still awake?" I said. "I'm exhausted."

"Your uncle gave me some of these candies," said Harley, holding out a bowl-full of what I recognized as adrenaline pills.

My eyes bulged. "Harley! Stop eating that right now. No wonder you've stayed up!" I snatched the bowl away. "Tony! I am so going to kill you." I turned back to Harley. "This thing is going to have TERRIBLE repercussions on you when you reach adulthood!"

"Hey!" he said. "I didn't know that. They tasted good!"

"They're not good," I said. "Not for you. But...perfect for me." I quickly seized a handful and crammed it in my mouth.

"Wait, what are you doing?" said Harley. "I thought you just said it was bad."

"Yeah," I admitted. "But I got somewhere to be and there's no time to lose." I dropped slightly so that I was eye-level with him. "You've done well, Harley, and we owe you some. But I can take it from here, trust me. And sometimes you gotta do bad things to get good things done. Do you know what I mean?" I put the remaining candies in my pockets.

"Wait, so you're gonna leave me too?!" said Harley, incredulous. "What is it with you Starks and leaving me alone?"

"Promise I'll whack Tony's ass for doing that to you," I said, "but you're gonna be perfectly safe here and I need someone to look after that old lobster." I tilted my head toward the MK 42.

"Okay, okay."

I suited up and opened the back door of the shed. Over the horizon was a pink haze indicating that Christmas Eve was fast approaching.

"Be careful, okay?" Harley said.

"You bet we will." I gave him a fistbump. "Be a good boy."

"Good luck!" he shouted as I kicked my thrusters into action and blasted off into the quiet, empty sky.

I arrived at the Villa within forty minutes. It was old, but still in good condition, with warm brick walls and a pool in the backyard. A zoom-in view provided by FRANNIE indicated that Tony was in the master bedroom on the top floor. I landed on the balcony, put the suit in backpack mode and knocked on the glass door.

The look on his face was priceless.

"Iz!"

Tony unlocked the door. The moment it slid open, I burst in and gave him the biggest hug ever.

And I'll admit, maybe we both cried a tiny bit.

"Found you," was all I could say.

"Yes, you did," he replied, pride and relief mixed in his voice. "You did, kid."


	12. The Starks Reunited

Tony opened the fridge and tossed me a can of ginger ale.

"Thanks," I said gratefully.

"When you said you were gonna meet me here, I picked up some extra supplies when I went shopping for those," he said, gesturing to the array of weapons made of ordinary home appliances and hardware lying on the dining table. I was impressed. I'd always known Tony was a genius; that fact was difficult to ignore. But this time he really wowed me. It was McGyver to the max.

Tony had spent the past hour briefing me on what he'd found out. The Mandarin bombings were set off by biologically-enhanced terrorists infused with a virus called Extremis. The virus, however, wasn't perfect, and anybody who couldn't handle the power it gave them blew up; hence no trace of forensics when anybody tried to ID the bomb. The virus was administered to former handicapped persons who'd signed up for Extremis' regenerative properties. Funding the entire mad scheme was Advanced Idea Mechanics, commonly known as AIM, run by Aldrich Killian. Turns out he and Tony met a long time ago, but that meeting, and Tony's flippant, insensitive treatment of the guy, was enough to send him into planning the greatest take-over-the-world-and-exact-revenge scheme I'd heard since Loki (and that only took first place because, well, aliens.)

"And this Killian guy's working with the Mandarin?" I said incredulously.

"All evidence points to it," Tony said, shrugging. "My bet is that Maya Hansen's involved too."

"The girl who came over to the mansion?"

"Not just any girl," said Tony. "One of the most brilliant botanists I've met. Her work pioneered the beginnings of Extremis."

"Holy crap," I hissed. "So this is all her fau—"

"No, it's not," said Tony, almost sharply. Then his expression softened. "Look, for all we know she got all tangled up in this without meaning to hurt people. I knew Maya. She's a good person."

"I don't know, Tony," I said, and went on to relate how Pepper had left with Maya shortly after the helicopter attack.

Tony stared. "So what, you think she baited Pepper?"

I shrugged. "I honestly don't know, Tony. It might be a possibility. You could call Pepper right now just to check."

Tony gave me a skeptical look, but pulled out a cell phone and dialed anyway.

"I can't reach her number," he said, and a slight note of panic crept into his voice. Silence descended on us.

"We can't not consider the possibility that they kidnapped her," I said in an undertone.

"Or that Maya came to warn us and they kidnapped both of them," Tony supplied.

"That too," I said, "but in any case, if you intend to take out the Mandarin right here, right now, maybe we should consider that Pepper—and, okay, maybe Maya—would be held in the base somewhere. Whatever plan you had up till now is gonna have to change if we want to get them out safe."

Tony only nodded, but I could almost see the gears spinning behind those brown eyes of his.

"Between us, we have one suit of armor, and McGyver's weapon stash," he said finally.

"But Chrome's specifically equipped for speed-sensitive tasks. You designed her that way."

"I need a distraction to get to the Mandarin, but if Pepper and Maya are in there, we'll need an extraction too. Preferably at the same time."

"Well…what if the extraction IS the distraction?"

Tony locked eyes with me. A smile began at the corner of his mouth.

"Now you're talking. Here's what we're gonna do…"


	13. It's A Trap

"I don't think my dad had this in mind when he let me go find you," I said as I cowered among the bushes behind the Mandarin's base. I squinted at the two-story building, still unable to comprehend that an international terrorist was hiding in a lavish, old-fashioned villa this big (with yachts and everything.)

Tony responded over the communicator in my helmet. "What he doesn't know isn't gonna hurt him."

"Eh, point taken." I watched a pair of perimeter guards walk along the lawn with a customary swagger. "I see a couple guys coming along."

"Be careful!" I just barely managed to hear him before leaping out of the bushes.

I spun quickly in midair, firing one repulsor blast after another and taking both guards by surprise. One went down; the other pulled out his gun. Bullets pattered off my helmet as I wrenched the gun from his grasp and used it to conk him on the head.

As he went down, a shout from the house made me look up. Another guard had seen me from the back porch and was yelling into a sat-phone for backup.

"All units guarding the front door, I need a hand here, we've got an armored intruder at the back entrance and it looks like the Stark kid!"

"Impressive," Tony drawled in my ear. "Now that should get you some attention."

"Tell me about it." I lifted off a couple feet as three more guards ran out of the house. "I can only buy you enough time."

"Moving into position now."

Meanwhile, I turned toward my new opponents and geared up for defense. Tony's plan had been simple—I was the diversion who snuck up on the back lawn, attracting attention to myself with the flashy suit and big guns, better prepared to make some noise while effectively defending myself as all the focus was drawn on me—and away from Tony, who was sneaking into the front door armed with his homemade tools and the element of surprise. A sneaky approach would make it easier for him to get to the Mandarin.

Once I was in, I'd try to find Pepper and Maya. If people thought that was my only agenda, they would definitely be distracted from guarding the Mandarin, leaving the path easier for Tony to clear. In the event that I did find both women, my suit would make it easier for me to transport them out of there quickly and maybe even have enough time to back Tony up in case his end of the plan got nasty.

I had to make sure this was the real plan, several times.

"Are you sure?" I'd asked Tony before suiting up.

"Why would I not be?"

I had shrugged. "This is just new. A couple years ago you would have never put me in such a…dangerous...position."

Tony had just given me a smug smile. "You're not about to chicken out now, are ya?"

"No, sir."

"I thought so." He'd patted me on the shoulder. "I trust you, kid."

That trust, luckily, got me all the way to the back entrance of the villa, leaving several unconscious goons in my wake. Adrenaline coursed through my veins like an old friend and I realized I was feeling…good. Like being in the suit and doing my Iron Girl stuff felt right and natural.

Inside, four or five more guards tried to shoot me, to no effect. I dispatched all of them but one, who I tossed onto a couch (in between two screaming scantily-clad women, God only knows why they were there.) I extended the blade from my gauntlet and held the edge to his throat.

"Oh my God," he gasped, "don't kill me!"

"Unless you don't want a stain on this couch, buddy, you're gonna tell me where your prisoners are," I said. "Come on, the red-headed chick and the botanist lady?"

"What?" His eyes bulged. "I don't know what you—"

Suddenly, a high-pitched scream echoed through the room. That voice sounded blood-curdlingly familiar.

"Pepper!"

She screamed again. I shut the blade away and knocked the guy out with my fist, running toward the source.

"Tony, things are bad, I thought I heard Pepper scream," I said through our communication link. He didn't respond. "Tony?" Screw this, I had to go find Pepper myself. FRANNIE used a sonic tracer to find the source of the sound, a room deep in the house. I turned a corner and found myself in a small, bare parlor. There was a blond man standing there. He was holding a recording device in his hand.

I only had a split second to process it.

"Surprise," said the man smugly, and suddenly two people grabbed me from behind, hard. I screamed as white-hot pain surged through my suit, forcing it open.

As I stumbled out, I realized this was probably the stupidest thing I'd fallen for in my life.


	14. Meeting the Mastermind

I was forced down onto a rickety steel chair, my hands pulled behind me and zip-tied by one black-clad crony while the other, a blonde woman, picked up my suit with one hand and tossed it at the blond man's feet.

"All yours, Mr. Killian," she said. They were both glowing from inside, and their skin and the air around them burned. They must have been injected with Extremis.

"Killian?" I managed to gasp out. Something clicked in my head. "So you're the bastard who's behind all this!" The man restraining gave me warning whack on my head.

Killian merely shook his head, still keeping the smug grin. "You know, Isabella, my old man always used to say that first impressions are everything. I take it that your generation doesn't care about that kind of stuff?"

"Ah, screw you," was all I could get out. He tutted at me before turning to face the woman who'd emerged from a side entrance.

"Aldrich, don't hurt her," said Maya Hansen, her voice strained as she entered.

"Maya!" I arched my back, trying to get free. "I knew you were a part of this! Tony was wrong—" My fists clenched as I seethed at her, wanting nothing more than to grab her around the throat for what she had done. Even if I'd been wary of it, seeing her standing next to Killian and confirming my suspicion hit hard in the gut.

The man and woman who'd restrained me stepped back as Maya confronted Killian with the force of a mother whose child had been sent to the Principal's office for no good reason. "I told you she wasn't going to be a threat, why are you treating her like this?"

"Ooh, Maya, calm down," said Killian, more impressed than intimidated. "She came charging in here, I'm just making sure she stays down."

"I'm serious, Aldrich."

"What do you want?" I interrupted forcefully.

Maya lingered, about to answer me, but Killian shooed her away. "See? Tough kid, she'll be fine. Now don't you have work to do, Maya?" With one last bitter look at him that made me rethink my rage towards her, Maya turned around and left.

"Easy now," Killian said, addressing me as I continued to struggle. "You heard the lady; I'm not gonna hurt you. Anymore."

"Look, cut the crap okay?" I said savagely. "I know you have Pepper. Let. Her. Go."

"You might as well bargain for your own freedom," said Killian, nodding toward my bindings. "So. Isabella Stark. The invincible Iron Girl."

"Whatever," I said, stung by the mocking tone in his voice.

"If you're here…I'm guessing your uncle's not far behind?"

"No," I spat, "just me. I'm ridin' this mission solo."

"I doubt that." He stopped in front of me. "I'd like to know how exactly you found this place."

Think. Think. Think. "Followed the broadcast signal of the last Mandarin message," I said bluntly.

"But you mentioned Tony," Killian said. When I fell silent, he smiled, knowing he'd found a plothole.

How could I have been so stupid?

"We'll find him," he said, mock-reassuringly.

"Why do you want Pepper?" I spat, abandoning all pretense. "No matter what Maya says, I'M more dangerous than she is! You should let her go!"

"You obviously take after your uncle," he noted. "Everything always has to be about you, doesn't it?"

"But it's true," I said. "Pepper's— She's not a threat to you."

"But she will help me get what I want."

"How?" I challenged. "What do you want anyway? Just revenge against Tony? By latching yourself to an international terrorist?"

Now he laughed at me. Really laughed.

"You may be a genius, Isabella, but you're still naïve," he said. "I'm sorry to say that this is worse than you think."He bent over, looked me in the eye. "You're uncle's gonna pay for what he did to me, but I can't say I don't owe him. After all, if it hadn't been for the—"

"Elevator in Switzerland?" I interrupted.

Killian raised his eyebrows. "So Tony's been telling you bedtime stories," he said. "If it hadn't been for that moment, well…I'd never have all of this."

I rolled my eyes. Take note of the date: December 23, 2012. The first time I ever got The Monologue from a bad guy.

Killian kept right on talking. "The whole time, I've been constructing my master plan, and nobody even bothered to look. Turns out they were the idiots." He straightened. "I've been waiting a long time for this, Izzy. And no smart-ass teenager or know-it-all CEO is going to run her mouth and ruin it for me."

"But you've hired walking WMDs," I couldn't help but point out. "Extremis is far from stable. Seriously—you can't expect to win like this! You've surrounded yourselves with—with time-bombs!" I jerked my head toward my guards. "Holding both of us isn't gonna convince Tony, you'll just blow up anyway."

"Who said I was ever going to use you to get to Tony?" Killian replied. "After all, you've still got a mother and a father out there. There's no way your dad is going to refuse funding me when his little girl's in danger. There's no way your mom, one of the country's best scientists, isn't going to help me stabilize Extremis if I have to eliminate her daughter…"

"You dick!" I shouted.

Killian merely shrugged. He squatted down by my suit, which lay useless on the floor. He held one of the flight inducer rockets with one hand, which started to glow orange.

I gasped. He didn't just stop with his associates; Killian's done it to himself!

Killian ripped off one rocket, then the other. He handled them like toys. From inside he was glowing with the same heat I'd seen from the two guards on either side of me.

"Nice," he said, examining the rockets. He turned toward me. "Don't mind if I do."

"No!" I shouted. "Don't—that's—please!"

"Why not?" he smirked. "Like I said, you're not going anywhere."

"Sir," said the man who'd tied me down, "I've just received a transmission. You'll like this—they found Stark right in the Master's quarters."

Time seemed to freeze, and so did my insides. We were screwed. Killian glanced at me.

"Told you," he said. "Now, if you'll excuse me. Your uncle and I have something to discuss, and it's waited nothing short of thirteen years." He got up and began to stride out of the room, taking my flight inducers with him. My two guards followed and were replaced with another pair of men. By the weapons they carried, I figured they weren't injected with Extremis as the first two had.

"When I get back tonight, we're going to film a hostage video right here," he told them. "The Starks must be missing their precious princess. Make sure she still looks presentable."

"Is that it?" I yelled after him. "You're dragging our whole family into this? Come on, man, it's Christmas!"

"And I'm sure it's going to be a merry one!" was his last reply before striding out of the parlor, the man and the woman following him.

The heavy wooden door was shut behind him and bolted.


	15. This Is the Mandarin (?)

Hey! So sorry for not updating! But at least, here's the next chapter, and I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

I couldn't have known how much time had passed. It felt like a lifetime—longer than any boring history class I'd had to sit through (in boarding school or in my current one.) The two guards flanked me imposingly for a while, then they merely sat down and started playing games on their phones.

I focused on a spot on the floor and let the time slip by. _Focus. Calm down. Remember, the MK 42 is with Harley right now, getting charged up…in no time it's gonna came crashing through the windows and we'll make a great escape. Just imagine the look on everybody's face! There'll be a big crash, mechanical whirring, lots of yelling…I hope I can hear it from all the way—_

SMASH!

"What the hell?" gasped one guy, jerking to an upright position. The two of them pulled out their guns. They looked at me.

I shrugged. "Not doing anything."

SMASH! Outside I tried to remain calm, but inside my heart was racing. Aww, yeah. Here it comes, motherfuckers.

SMASH! CRASH! BANG! THUD! VRRRRRRRMMM-FZWOOM! FZOOM!

That sounded like a repulsor blast!

A voice called out over a loudspeaker: "All personnel, Stark is loose and somewhere in the compound. Repeat: Stark is loose and somewhere in the compound."

"Ha ha!" I couldn't help but say, jeering at my captors. "Oh man, you guys are gonna be in SO MUCH TROUBLE when my uncle gets here!"

CRASH.

The door to the left entrance of the parlor was blown open in a storm of smoking wood chips. One repulsor blast took out the one to my left first. The guy shot a couple of rounds before getting blasted too. He tumbled at my feet as the smoke and dust cleared, revealing the MK 42 armor, with the helmet up to show my uncle's familiar, relieved face.

The moment was too good to waste.

"What, did Iron Man get captured and zip-tied too?" I quipped.

He beamed. "Yeah, you're definitely all right." He pulled off my binds with his metal fingers and I jumped up and wrapped my arms around him. "Did they hurt you?"

"Oh, you know me," I said, "I'm invincible."

"Okay—that's enough. Now we gotta get upstairs." He didn't pull me off or set me down, though. He lifted me up under my legs and strode out of the parlor, carrying me with one arm while I hung onto his shoulders. "I'm guessing Killian did that?" he said, nodding to my suit, still on the floor.

I frowned. "Yeah, how'd you guess?"

"I recognized your flight inducers strapped to the Iron Patriot as it flew out of the compound."

"Wait, what?" I said. "The Patriot's here? What for?"

"I'll explain it later."

"There's something you have to know," I said urgently as he started walking. "Maya's working for—"

"I know, Iz," Tony said with a steely tone. "She's dead."

"What?" I gripped his shoulder. "How?"

"Killian shot her, point blank, in front of me."

I wasn't sure how to feel after being mad at her for such a long time—Maya was gone, and maybe she took an explanation and every chance of redemption with her.

"Why did he do that?"

"To prove a point. To get to me," Tony replied.

"We have to finish this then," I said, with renewed conviction. "For her."

He nodded. "We will, I promise."

"Please tell me you at least found the Mandarin," I said.

Tony pulled a face. "Well, I did. Sort of."

"You found a decoy?" I guessed.

"I wish," he said as he mounted the stairs.

We arrived at a common room on the top floor where we saw 1. A man with a ratty beard dressed in a bathrobe asleep on an armchair and 2. Two guards with their guns out.

"The room is secure; I have eyes on the Mandarin," one guard said into a sat-phone.

"What's this?" Tony interrupted. "I thought I had winners."

Just as I was sure the guys were going to turn their guns on us, there was another surprise.

SMASH! Again! And this time the plate-glass window shattered as a familiar figured hurtled through them and gunned both guys down in an instant. The man on the armchair woke suddenly, and our savior straightened, dusted himself off and smiled at me.

"Hey, Isabella."

"Rhodey?" I said. "Rhodey! You're here?" Of course! Tony had mentioned the Iron Patriot. Obviously, wherever a suit was, its rightful pilot would never be far away. I grinned.

"Long story," he said, before lunging to the man on the armchair and threatening him with the gun.

"Wh-what've you come as?" stammered the man. I blinked. He looked familiar…

"You make a move and I'll break your face," said Rhodey aggressively. Tony put me down, and we both advanced toward them.

"I never thought people had been hurt…they lied to me!" the man continued to stammer. I got a good view of his face, and suddenly it clicked.

"This is the Mandarin?!" Rhodey and I said in unison—both in disgust and disappointment.

"I know," said Tony grimly, "it's…embarrassing."

"Seriously?" I said. "I was so looking forward to kicking this guy's ass!"

"Hi, Trevor…Trevor Slattery," said the so-called Mandarin, holding his hand out to Rhodey like a senile, stoned long-lost relative.

Rhodey's response was to slap the guy's hand away.

"I know, I'm shorter in person, bit small, everyone says that. But, um...hey, if you're here to arrest me, uh...there are some people who I'd like to roll on. Immediately."

I rolled my eyes and walked off a little way. This was humiliating and disappointing. Killian had been right; it was much worse than I imagined. He had never latched himself onto a terrorist; he'd created one out of smoke, mirrors and a billion bucks.

Looking at Trevor now, I couldn't believe we'd bought the whole ruse.

"Do you know what they did to my suit?" Rhodey demanded.

"What?" Trevor looked stunned. "No. But I do know what's happening off the coast. Something to do with…uh, a big boat. I can take you there. OOOOOH! OLE, OLE OLE OLE—"

We all glanced at the TV screen, which was showing a triumphant win for the Spanish soccer team.

"Tony, I swear to God, I'm gonna blow his face off," said Rhodey, frustrated.

"This should stop." I found the remote and switched off the TV. Trevor looked up at me, bewildered.

"Focus, man," I said, snapping my fingers. "What else? What else do you know?"

"Oh, this next bit may include the Vice President as well. Is that...is that important?"

"Somewhat," said Tony. "Yeah, a little bit." Rhodey said, and the three of us retreated to one side to confer.

"So?" Tony said.

"Can we trust him? He's higher than the Empire State, Tony," I pointed out. "If I was that high, I wouldn't know which way was down; let alone the direction of whatever boat they've got Pepper on."

"It's our best shot. Our only shot," he said. "And you'd be surprised what people can manage when they're high. Or wasted." "What are we gonna do?" Rhodey said, ever the practical one. "I mean, we don't have any transport." Tony turned to Trevor. "Hey, Ringo. Didn't you say something about a 'lovely speedboat'?"


	16. House Party Protocol

"Please tell me Tony's not doing something embarrassing in there," I said, jerking a thumb to the closed cabin door aboard the speedboat. Rhodey laughed.

"He's not, but I'd still advise you to not go in there. He's got the Air Force One thing covered, though."

I fumed and sat down. "If I'd had my Chrome suit—"

"I know you're frustrated," Rhodey said patiently. "These guys took the Iron Patriot, too. It's a real pain but Tony's more than capable of handling this."

"Thirteen people fell out of a plane," I said skeptically. "He's just one guy. And he said it himself, his neurotransmitter control isn't perfect yet. What if the Mark 42 glitches mid-flight?" Air Force One had been blown to pieces by one of Killian's cronies, concealed within the stolen Iron Patriot, in an attempt to kidnap the president. In the process, everyone else onboard was falling to their deaths—with only one Iron Man to save them.

"He'll find a way," said Rhodey, but he looked worried.

Meanwhile, I kept an eye on Trevor, making sure he didn't fall out of the boat. He seemed less spaced-out now.

Rhodey must've gotten impatient, because the next thing I knew he'd yanked the door open and barked at my uncle. "Give me some good news, man."

"I think they all made it."

"Oh, thank God."

"Yeah, but I missed the President." I stood as the two of them walked onto the deck. Tony looked mentally exhausted.

"You couldn't save the President with the suit, how are we gonna save Pepper with nothing?" Rhodey demanded.

**"**Uh..." Tony said. "Say, JARVIS, is it that time?"

**" **The 'house party' protocol, sir?" JARVIS replied.

"Correct."

"What's that?" I said curiously, tugging on the back of Trevor's jacket to prevent him from falling out the side of the boat.

"Step two of the plan," Tony said.

"Okay," I said, shrugging. "I trust you with that, but we still have Trevor to worry about."

Tony grimaced. "Dammit." He leaned in closer to me and whispered "What if you kept an eye on him while we went to rescue Pepper? We could just lock him in the cabin—"

I held up a hand. "No. Absolutely not. I mean, great idea and everything, but that's not humane. Seriously."

We agreed that we didn't have time to drop Trevor off at the authorities AND get to the freighter Pepper was on before Killian put his plan into execution. A few stolen files from the Mandarin database(hacked by yours truly) confirmed Trevor's information. We had located Pepper, but she was still a long ways off.

"I got a simple solution," I said finally. "I can keep an eye on Trevor and still be available to you for backup. But it's gonna sound a little unorthodox."

Tony cocked his head. "Hit me."

"911, what is your emergency?"

"Hi! This is Isabella Stark speaking."

"…Isabella…Stark?"

"Yes. I'm located about 25 nautical miles off the pier, in a little yellow rubber raft."

"A what?"

"A rubber raft," I said, trying to steady the craft as it bobbed up and down on the grey waves. Sitting on the opposite side was Trevor, who was looking seasick. "I'm using a long-range satphone and I have the Mandarin with me."

The voice on the other end of the line went taut. "You have the Mandarin? Is this a hostage situation?"

"Well, yeah—but I'm not the hostage." I looked up at the setting sun. "Hurry, please. He's going to be sick."

Approximately fifteen minutes later, two speedboats arrived, slashing through the grey water like knives. The Coast Guard members aboard were heavily armed, and had a helicopter hovering overhead for backup. Boy, were they going to be disappointed.

I watched Trevor the whole time, never taking my eyes off him as they handcuffed him and got him onto one of the boats.

"I didn't do anything," he said. "I mean, I know some people who did. The kid'll tell ya. Won't you, Iz?"

"He's a fake," I said quickly. "The Mandarin's not real. This guy isn't responsible for anything."

"Miss Stark, please come with us now," one of the guardsmen told me. "We'll clear this up back at base."

"N-no…" I hung back and looked up at the darkening sky. _Where is that thing? _Tony had told me to wait here for the next step of our plan.

"We can't leave you out here," he said urgently. "Come on. What are you waiting for?"

The dim sky was suddenly lit up by a fast-moving streak of light. It would have been a shooting star if it weren't burning red and gold, and heading straight for me.

"Hold your fire!" I barked as the guardsmen lifted their weapons and Trevor jumped in surprise. I stood, trying to stay steady on the rubber boat as my first baby, my magnum opus, my Iron Girl armor came to a hovering stop in front of my and opened up.

"Here's my ride, gentlemen," I said coolly. "Thank you for everything."

The pieces slid and locked over me, and FRANNIE's voice came on as the HUD flickered into life.

"Welcome back, Miss Stark. You are currently using the Iron Girl MK 2 suit. The House Party Protocol is underway and ready for your remote control."

As I rose into the sky, several more Iron Men—different shapes, sizes, colors—flew past, all heading in a general direction.

"Whoa," I whispered. _Tony, guess all those sleepless nights have paid off._ I put my thrusters on full power and followed them.

We were really going to kick Killian's ass now.


	17. I Get Real Tired of Mr Killian's Sht

It felt good to be back in my old armor, and even better to have the entirety of Tony's Iron Legion as backup. It wasn't long before Killian's freighter came into view and Tony's voice sounded in my helmet.

"How are we doing, Iz?"

"Back in action and ready to go full badass mode," I said, grinning as the Legion and I formed a ring around the seacraft. "We got a plan?"

"Target Extremis heat signatures. Disable with extreme prejudice," Tony said.

"Got it."

The Extremis subjects weren't that hard to find; they stuck out like glowing Christmas lights on my heat sensor. And they looked strong. Pure aggression emanated from the man and woman who came up to engage me as I landed hard on the port deck. As FRANNIE activated my weaponry, I felt Isabella Stark slip away—and Iron Girl take over.

The guy went down after three blasts to his abdomen in quick succession. Before he could properly regenerate, I'd tossed him overboard. The woman nearly smashed a fist through my chest, but as I staggered backward and held my arm up another blast went off, knocking her over completely. "Anyone else, FRANNIE?"

"One target coming up on your eight o' clock."

I spun sharply and was just able to dodge as a tall blonde man threw a fist at me.

"You really shouldn't be here right now, kid," said Aldrich Killian, with his usual smirk. He made a power stance, as if that was going to threaten me. "Makes you think, eh? You're uncle's willing to endanger his niece to save his _girlfriend. _I mean, that's kinda messed up isn't it?"

I growled in annoyance and sent a couple of shots at him as I charged.

"Gettin' _real _tired of yer shit, Mr. Killian!" I yelled, attempting a messy left hook.

"Is this all because I kidnapped you?" he said, mock-pityingly.

"Is this all because of that elevator in Switzerland?" I snapped.

He chuckled dryly before blocking my next strike. His touch burned my armor. "Little girl, you're way in over your head." Killian twisted his arm, jerking me off-balance. "And isn't it way past your bedtime?"

I used my other arm to push his hand off me and came back, blast after successive blast. "I haven't slept in 48 hours, _don't _piss me off!"

Just when I thought I was able to get close to him and take him out, he grabbed me—literally grabbed me, armor and all—and lifted me into the air like we were figure skaters.

Then he tossed me into a stack of cargo boxes.

I slammed right in between two of them, my weight pushing them apart. On the floor I wheezed, breathless, my head pounding as FRANNIE refocused my helmet display.

"Minimal damage, Miss Stark. We're lucky."

"Lucky," I said, as I tried to get up stiffly. "_Lucky."_ Killian was long gone, jumping from rig to rig with shocking agility.

"What about the President?"

"Recovered by Colonel Rhodes, ma'am. They are clearing the area using the Iron Patriot armor as we speak."

"Excellent," I huffed. "That's one less thing to worry about."

It took me longer than I expected to even sit upright, but I finally pushed myself to a standing position. A crash overhead, several yards away, caught my attention. Dangling from a wrecked crane was a familiar red-haired figure—

"Pepper!" I gasped visibly. She was trying to hold on to Tony. Then she fell.

"FRANNIE, thrusters at full power now!" I said, taking flight. Explosions burst right beneath me, beneath Pepper, swallowing her up in smoke and flame—

"Dammit!" _Why couldn't I have had my Chrome suit?_ I plunged straight into the inferno like a diver into water.

_There! _She was still falling. I reached out a hand—

Grabbed her—

"Aaaagh!"

"Pepper, I got you!"

We shot out of the other side of the blast and hit the metal floor, away from the wreck. Pepper groaned in pain.

"Are you okay?" I gasped, grabbing her shoulders and lifting up my faceplate.

"My shoulder…"She blinked, and a soft orange glow started to burn underneath her skin…

We watched in shock as she popped her shoulder back into its socket, the glow continuing down her arms and body and healing up her other injuries.

I gaped. "Pep…"

"Isabella! What are you doing here?"

"Came to rescue you," I said. "What did he do to you?"

She shook her head, frightened. "I don't know. Where's Tony?"

I looked up. A figure launched itself off the crumbling crane and was caught mid-air by another Iron Man suit.

"There," I said. "Right there. Stay here."

I blasted off once more, not bothering to pull my visor down again. No rest for the bitchy.


	18. And Apparently, So Does Pepper

I made a staggering landing in front of Tony as he dusted off. Another explosion racked the ship, sending him toppling into my arms.

"Got you, old man," I said quickly.

"Am I glad to see you," he said, but there was a haunted look in his eyes; a hint of trauma. "Iz, I couldn't—Pepper—"

Then his expression changed as he caught sight of something over my shoulder, and I whirled around to see Aldrich Killian emerge, unscathed, from the fire. His shirt had burned off completely, revealing a pair of black dragon tattoos on his chest.

I revved up my repulsors and stood in front of Tony, ready to attack. "Back off, bully."

"Really, Stark?" Killian said, tilting his head to look at Tony. "Hiding behind a little girl?"

"'Little girl' has a name, Dragon Titties," I spat. That made him laugh.

"Too bad," Killian clucked. "I really wasn't planning on killing you, Izzy. But that doesn't matter now. No one has to know a minor died aboard the Norco." We charged at each other; I knocked him to the floor. But he sprang up quickly and closed his right hand around my throat, lifting me off my feet as heat surged down his arm. It was a Darth Vader moment for sure.

"Stop it, stop it—put her down!" shouted Tony. "You're not here for her, buddy, you were always here for me. Remember?"

"You know, you're right," said Killian, and before I knew it I was being tossed aside yet again, like a rag doll. I hit the floor hard, and despite my armor's protection, my ribs were hurt bad. I looked up, gasping, as Tony started to run toward me, but his path was blocked at once by Killian, now burning bright orange.

"No more false faces. You said you wanted the Mandarin, you're looking right at him," declared Killian grandiosely. "It was always me, Tony, right from the start. I am the Mandarin!"

That was when a giant metal pole came out of nowhere and whacked him to the ground. Silhouetted against the blaze stood Pepper Potts. She was holding the pole and she looked absolutely furious.

"I got nothing," was all Tony said.

I struggled to get to my feet, but was knocked over again to avoid the incoming Mark 42 armor.

"JARVIS, subject at my twelve o'clock is not a target, disengage!" Tony said in a panic as the suit made a beeline for Pepper, but we both realized at the same time that his neurotransmitter had fallen off. I lurched upright and lunged for the earpiece just as Pepper charged at Tony. My fingers closed around it as Pepper vaulted overhead, using Tony as a fulcrum to launch herself into the air and grab the glove from the suit. She tore it off, landing and kicking a stray missile toward me, and screaming "Get down!"

I hit the floor, aware that she was not in the mood to be disobeyed. The blast, followed up by bright repulsor shot from the glove, sounded above my head—and split Aldrich Killian, emerging from the flames, into a million scorched pieces.

I peered out from behind my arm. "Is it over?"

"Honey," gasped Tony, as Pepper seemed to collect herself.

"Oh my God," I heard her say. "That was really violent."

"You just scared the devil out of me," Tony said. "I thought you were..."

"Dead?" Pepper finished. "Why? Because I fell two hundred feet? Iz caught me. Who's the hot mess now?"

God, she was gonna kill him. I began to crawl toward them, over the rubble, dragging my body behind me since my legs didn't feel like cooperating yet. But it seemed like they were making up now. Pepper was scared.

"Am I gonna be okay?" She whimpered.

"I think I can get you better," Tony promised her. "That's what I do, I fix stuff."

" And all your distractions?"

"Uh...I'm gonna shave them down a little bit."

"A little help here," I mumbled as I approached them. Tony chuckled; in relief, more than anything. He pulled me to my feet.

"So it's over?" I said hopefully. "Please say it's all over."

"Yeah," Tony said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "It's over, kiddo. Take a deep breath."

I inhaled and let out my breath. The Mandarin was gone. I almost couldn't believe it. "We _did _it!"

"And I couldn't have done it without my sidekick."

I just smiled. For the first time, that didn't sound so bad. "I could get used to that." I held the earpiece in front of him. "Here you go."

He beamed and put it on. "JARVIS? Hey?"

"All wrapped up here, Sir."

"You know what to do."

"The 'clean slate' protocol, sir?"

Tony turned to us. "Screw it, it's Christmas. Yes, yes."

He wrapped one arm around Pepper and pulled me closer to them as the Iron Legion whizzed overhead—and then, one by one, they burst into brightly colored sparks like fireworks that lit up the night sky.

Pepper gasped. "Oh…" She slid an arm around my shoulders, and I leaned my head on her arm, glad to have her back.

Red Snapper, Heartbreaker, Gemini, Disco, Shotgun, Igor…I watched my uncle's creations, the closest thing I had to cousins, explode in bright showers like Christmas stars.

"All the suits?" I whispered.

"All except yours," Tony said, and winked. "Okay so far? You like it?"

"It'll do," Pepper murmured.

I said nothing, just put my arms around my family and sighed deeply.

It was finally over. We'd charged through the fire, went deep into the lion's den—and what did we find? Only shadows. That was all the Mandarin would ever be.

Shadows chased away by Christmas lights.

We ended up doing Christmas—and the rest of the year—at my mom's new place in Orlando, with her boyfriend Todd. I guess when your daughter, your ex-husband's cousin and your ex-husband's cousin's girlfriend show up at your door on Christmas morning after being dropped off by the US Army (thanks Rhodey) you wouldn't do anything else.

"Okay, guys," I said, looking at Tony and Pepper (who looked pretty much worse for wear), "I have to warn you— Mom's pretty chill, but given the circumstances, I think she's gonna freak out." I rang the doorbell.

She opened it, and her eyes widened at once. A split second later she had swooped down on me and was hugging me tighter than I had ever remembered her hugging me before.

"Mom?" I finally said.

She sniffed. "Yes, baby?"

"Can we come inside?"

She looked up at Tony and Pepper and didn't give a crap about her runny mascara. "Of course. Of course you can."


	19. Noel

So how did the Starks spend Christmas? Surprisingly, just like every family does it—gorging on holiday meals and just being together. And heck, we were _all _together.

Dad and Katrina took the jet to Orlando and arrived in time for Christmas dinner, which was a surprise to all of us—but hey, we'd just come back from the dead after finding the world's most wanted terrorist on the most festive time of the year, so, my parents' divorce aside, they made an exception. And if anything was awkward between them and their respective new partners, at least I had Tony and Pepper.

"Good Christmas for you, Iz?" Tony asked later, as I sat on a corner of the couch nursing my very own glass of champagne. He settled in next to me.

"Pretty good," I said.

"It's about to get better." He pulled something out his front pocket. A folded paper napkin, with the holly pattern that Mom was obsessed with during Christmas. "Open this."

I did. Scrawled in the center was a note in Tony's handwriting.

_To Whom It May Concern,_

_I, Anthony Edward Stark, hereby appoint my niece, Isabella Renee Stark, as the sole heir to my estate, and future CEO of Stark Industries. _

"No," I said in disbelief.

He beamed. "Yes."

"Really?"

"Really."

"But—" I couldn't think of anything to say. Luckily, Tony could speak enough for both of us.

"Look, you've come a long way from the kid who stole my designs last year. You proved it then. You proved now. And I may have lost everything when the house went down, but when it comes down to it, all that really matters is…what I leave behind." He looked at me thoughtfully. "Finding someone to inherit my legacy after Pepper used to be a pain-in-the-ass kind of thought, but then you came along, and heck—I don't know, it was just perfect."

"Did this idea just come to you over Christmas dinner?" I said numbly, still unable to believe this was happening as I fidgeted with the napkin.

"It may have occurred to me somewhere in between infiltrating the Mandarin's hideout and the House Party Protocol, either one of those moments when I was pretty sure I was gonna die," Tony said flippantly. "Anyway. You'll accept it, right?"

I looked down at the paper.

"It's a draft- not official, we'll sign a legit one first chance we get, but I do mean it. You're smart, creative, resourceful, not afraid to let anything or anyone stand in your way, always thinking big…"

_What is wrong with you, Stark? Just tell him yes!_

"Fuck yeah," I blurted out, and hugged him tight as the tears came rushing out.

"What is going on here?" Mom said, noticing us. Tony just handed her the note. She and my father stared at it, stunned. Pepper took one look over their shoulder and smiled at Tony brightly.

"Whaddaya think, Potts, did I make a good decision?" He asked her.

She nodded. "I couldn't have picked anyone better."


	20. Dealing with Demons

SECOND TO LAST CHAPTER! Hang in there for the epic epilogue!

* * *

With Aldrich Killian vaporized into bits, the rest of AIM was swiftly dealt with. First of all, and probably the most satisfying, Tony and Rhodey had amassed enough information to put away the Vice President for good. He was found guilty of aiding the attempt to kidnap President Ellis, who remained eternally grateful to Iron Man and Iron Patriot for saving his life. Anyone else involved with Killian was apprehended. Last I heard of Trevor, he was checking into rehab. Poor guy had no idea what was really going down. As for those who'd helped us—I convinced Tony to send Harley more than a thank-you card for Christmas. He agreed, and pulled some strings to refurbish the kid's shed into a full-on workshop with the latest gizmos. Plus, word had come in from the hospital at Malibu; Happy Hogan was on the road to recovery, and would be up and about by Valentine's Day.

As for Extremis, Tony had it covered by New Year's Eve. He wasn't a biochemist, but provided with a good incentive (fulfilling his promise to Pepper) he'd become an expert in the field overnight*. Pretty soon Pepper was cured and walking around like a normal person without anyone being scared to touch her. But Tony was the type of guy who couldn't let a good idea go to waste. He got really fascinated by the serum's regenerative qualities. If done rightly, it could heal _anything. _

Even a heart full of shrapnel.

It took two whole hours for a team of surgeons to operate on Tony, removing the shrapnel and then administering Extremis to heal the tricky parts and do the rest of the job. He was never going to need the arc reactor again.

I'd hugged Tony lots of times by now, but when I hugged him after he came home from the procedure, I noticed something was there that hadn't been there before; something I never even noticed was missing when I used to hug him.

"Oh my God," I gasped, leaning away from him.

"What?"

I moved in close again, put my ear on his chest. That sound was unmistakable. "It's your heart. I can actually _hear _your heartbeat." This whole time, the arc reactor had muffled the sound of what made Tony human. But, I realized as I handed my uncle a stethoscope, I had never once doubted that he had one.

Oh yeah-then there was me. I had to admit, being named Tony's heiress took a little getting used to. But a week after New Year, Tony and Pepper put it down in legal writing, and that was it. The rest of my future was pretty much set.

It was what happened in between now and then that was going to be interesting.

"So will you do it again?" I asked Tony as he sifted through several construction reports for Stark Tower's rebuilding in New York.

"Will I do what?"

"Put on the suit. Be Iron Man again."

Tony glanced at me. "Maybe. But not yet. Not until I've got everything sorted out."

I could tell he was thinking about what had just happened, and that what had just happened would stick to him for a long time; no matter how good he was at moving on and rebuilding his life. I watched him sit on deck chair and thumb through file after file, but his hands shook and he had to lean back and take a deep breath.

"Shit," he mumbled as the folder slid off his lap and hit the floor. He bent awkwardly to pick them up, but I took them before he did.

"It's probably not a good idea to look at these," I said, noticing photographs of Stark Tower and the surrounding Manhattan skyline. "They trigger stuff, Tony."

"I'm okay," he said breathlessly. I tightened my lips into a straight line, and he sighed. "I mean, I will be okay." Tony took the files from me grudgingly. "It's going to take a while for me to get over, isn't it?"

He hadn't had another panic attack in weeks, but I should have known it would take him time to heal completely. There are some things, like a damaged heart, that can be fixed easy; but there were also other things my uncle had been through that I could never imagine. He'd carry that around with him forever.

And there was something else—the Avengers. If there was one thing I knew about them now, it was that they wouldn't always be there. They'd proved that much recently. Who could Tony trust to back him up, even when he didn't think he needed help?

I looked at my uncle try to steady his breathing again. At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to protect him, the way he had always tried to protect me.

That was when I finally made a decision that had been put off for far too long.

"I'll do it."

"You'll- what?"

"I've been thinking about what you said, and I want to do it." I said, bending so Tony and I were at eye level. "I want to be Iron Girl."

"Hold on a second," Tony said, holding up a hand. "Iz. Are you _sure_?"

"One hundred percent," I said confidently. "Soon as I get out of high school- I'm almost done anyway. And I can put off going to university till the next year. Besides, didn't you say SHIELD was cool with it now?" He started to protest, and I put my hands on his shoulders. "Isn't that what you wanted? For Iron Girl to fill your shoes?"

"Not like this! Not so soon- you don't have to do this."

I smiled. "I think I kind of do. After seeing every shitty thing that happens to you while I'm not around? There's no way I'm going to let you go back into the field alone. Ever, _ever _again."

"Iz..."

"I _mean _it, Tony," I told him. "And we'll _both _protect each other. We'll put your demons back in their bottle." I held out my hand.

Obviously, my uncle figured we'd been through too much to seal a deal on a mere handshake. He hugged me tight, catching me by surprise.

"Okay, kid. Okay."


	21. Epilogue

"Are you sure that thing is safe?"

"Relax, Bethany. I designed it, it should be perfectly okay."

"It's defended me from worse than a flock of pigeons," I said, as I manually fitted a metal gauntlet to my arm. I locked it into place and faced my mom. "Well? How do I look?"

"Wow," was all she said. She kissed my forehead. "It looks great. You ready to test it?"

I smiled, glad that my mom was onboard with my recent decision. "Yes."

Together, Tony and Todd opened the door to the garage. As it lifted, the bright Florida sun glinted off the smooth finish of my Chrome suit- version 2.0.

"Now remember that it'll be a few more months before you start using this suit regularly, so _don't _push yourself too far," Tony warned me. "Just...take it slow." But he winked at me.

"And make sure you're back in time for dinner with Dr. Banner," said Todd.

"Like I would miss that opportunity!" I said, and put on my helmet. "See you guys in a few hours."

"You _better, _young lady," said Mom as I walked out of the garage.

I put my visor down and my HUD flickered into life.

"Good morning, Miss Stark. Today's weather conditions appear ideal for long-distance travel and the Chrome suit 2.0 is currently at 320%. Your first test flight plan has already been finalized. Shall we begin?"

I felt goosebumps raise along my skin. "Yeah, FRANNIE. Let's fly."

I was speed, I was the wind, I was pure light tearing a path through the sky, and as I spiraled into the clouds, I knew nothing was going to stop me once I really got going.

My name is Isabella Stark, and this is just the beginning.


	22. Author's Note

AUTHOR'S NOTE!

I just wanted to say THANK YOU SO MUCH to everybody who read this fic and stuck with it! Itruly appreciate all the support :) There are absolutely no words to express how grateful and thrilled I am.

And you're probably hoping that there's going to be another book, but I have to say that that's highly unlikely! Still, I hope you enjoyed this one for what it was, and encourage you to go spread the word about it. Huzzah!

Thanks again you guys. Iz wouldn't be here without you.

Excelsior!

Iris


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